Gideon Bible Lessons, Crafts and Activities for Sunday School

How to Make Crafts and Activities Relating To Gideon

Gideon - Brave and Mighty

The following crafts and activities about Gideon come from The Resource Room. The complete lesson "Gideon - Brave and Mighty" is available to members. In this lesson children learn how God gave good guy Gideon the strength to fight the mean men of Midian.

This lesson is also available as an instant download for $2.95. It includes all the crafts and activities on this page and more:

"How
Many Israelites Can You Find?" Color Sheet

What you will need:

Colored Pencils

Paper

What to do:

Before class print out the activity sheets and make copies.

In class ask your preschoolers to see how many Israelites they can find. Ask them why they think the Israelites might be hiding. Ask them if they have every been scared or hid when they were frightened.

Search and Find Words that Relate to the Bible Lesson

1. Before class print out the activity sheet and make copies. (Printable pattern available to members on The Resource Room.)

2. In class have your children search for words that relate to the lesson. When a child finds a word ask him or her how the word relates to the Bible lesson. Keep playing until all the words have been found.

Words on the word search:

Horizontal - strength, pray, brave, angel, wheat, hide, lord, weak

Vertical - strong, obey, Gideon, scared, power, help

Color a Bible
Verse Picture

Examine Wheat and Learn About Threshing and Winnowing

Bring in some sheaves of wheat. (You can buy these at craft stores.
You will find them in the dried flower section. They are used in
flower arrangements.) Tell the children that people in Bible times
made flour for bread from wheat. First they had to separate the
seed from the chaff (outer part of the grain). To do this they laid
the wheat out on a cloth on the floor and beat it with sticks or
had their animals walk over them. This was called threshing the
wheat.

Once the chaff was knocked off, they had to separate
it from the seed. To do this they would place a blanket on the ground
and then throw the seed and chaff straight up in the air on a windy
day. The wind would blow the chaff away while the heavier seed would
fall to the ground. This was call winnowing the wheat. They would
then pick up the seeds and grind them into flour.

Spread out a clean tablecloth on the floor or on a
table. (You may want to do this outside on the ground.) Show the
children the wheat. Show them how you can rub the seed cases (chaff)
in your hand and the seed will fall out. Let the children try. (If
you have very little children, you may want to give them a cloth
to put over the wheat and then have them rub the cloth over the wheat
on a paper plate. The wheat can be a little prickly.) Once the children
have removed all the seed from the chaff, tell them to remove the
long stems from the table. Show the children that if you blow lightly
over the top of the plate the chaff will blow away leaving the heavier
seeds. Once the seeds are separated, the seeds would be ground between
two rocks to make flour. Tell them that in our story today a man
was threshing and winnowing his wheat.

I discovered this website a few months ago and absolutely love it! It has so many good ideas that are practical, easy to follow, and lots of fun for kids. Everything in the lessons are written so clearly and I get excited taking one of these lessons to my group of first graders. Thank you for this invaluable resource! Karen

Find Gideon Lift the Flap Activity

Preschoolers will love trying to find Good Guy Gideon behind the flaps. This activity comes with three different printable character patterns so Gideon will be hiding in different places when the teacher changes the back pattern. Children will also be eager to see what is hiding behind the flaps including: a monkey, gecko, camel, lion, bison, dinosaur, gorilla, bears, and an alligator.

Before
class print out and the landscape
picture and character sheets. (These patterns are available to members on The Resource Room.)

Cut out the flaps on the solid lines.

In class place a character sheet behind the landscape pattern and have the children take turns picking a flap and lifting it to see if Gideon is behind the flap.

"Find Gideon" Card Game

1. Before class
print out the two pattern sheets and cut the cards apart. (Printable patterns available to members on The Resource Room.)

2. Cut out the Good Guy Gideon figure and tape it to the back of one of the cards. Use a tape that isn't very sticky, such as painters tape, so you can remove the figure and place it on another card.

3. In class have the children take turns trying to find
Good Guy Gideon. Let each child pick a card until someone picks the one Gideon
is hiding under. Play again if all your children have not had a
chance to play.

*If you don't want to use the cards, you can just
hide a "Gideon doll" or a picture of Gideon in the room and see who can find Gideon first.

Bible Verse Review Games for 1 Corinthians 16:13

These Bible verse printables can be used in many ways to review the 1 Corinthians 16:13. The verse is broken up into four parts that are easy to remember using pictures. (Printable Patterns available on The Resource Room.)

1. Be on your guard; - Picture of a security guard

2. Stand firm in the faith; - Hiker standing ona rock

3. Be courageous; - Firefighter

4. Be strong. - Picture of a weightlifter

Relay Race 1 - Review the Bible verse several times before playing this game. Break your children up into teams of four. Mix up the pictures and place the pictures on the opposite side of the room from the children. On the word go a team of four children should run up and grab the picture cards, hold the cards in front of them, get in order of the verse and then each child says what is written on his or her card. The team that does it in the least amount of time wins.

Motions Bible Verse Review Game - Before you play review the motions for each card:

1. Be on your guard - Children put one hand out pretending to use a flashlight

2. Stand frim in the faith - Children hold both arms, hands in fist, above their heads.

3. Be courageous - Children pretend to be holding a firehose.

4. Be Strong - Children pretend to be making muscles.

Show your children the first card and have them say the words while they do the motions. Go over it several times until your children know the words. Keep playing, changing cards faster and faster, until the children know the verse and can say it without the cards.

Place the Children in Order - Mix up the cards and place children into groups of five. Show four child one each of the cards without showing the fifth child. The four children should then do the motions for their part of the Bible verse and the fifth child should tell them where to stand so that they are in order of the verse. The other children in class should say the Bible verse using the children to help them remember the verse.

Bible Verse Poster Coloring Activity

1. Before class print out the patterns and make copies. (Printable patterns available to members on The Resource Room.

You can use the complete poster and print it on white paper, or print the background pattern onto colored paper and the Bible verse patterns onto white paper.

2. Cut out the Bible verse patterns.

3. In class have your children color the Bible verse sheets with colored pencils and them glue them to the background sheet to make posters.

I just wanted to let you know I used this lesson today on my Junior
Church kids. I have a group of kids from 2-9 years of age. Sometimes
it is difficult to say the least. But we made a cave from our chairs
and a big blanket, and they loved it. Told them the story, the little
ones were a little scared but they all enjoyed it. We also did the
wheat, which was fun, but messy! Thank you for the wonderful lesson.
Berni King

For my 2-6 year old Sunday school class today, I used the lesson
"Gideon - Brave & Mighty". I covered a table with
a blanket, and we used our imaginations to pretend that we were
hiding inside a cave. I brought a flashlight, just in case someone
was a little afraid. The lesson went very well. Since we were inside
the "cave" the children listened very closely. They didn't
want to miss anything.

For our craft, we made puppets using patterns from www.makingfriends.com
and we glued them to craft sticks. The children really enjoyed reenacting
the story with the puppets.

I made up a song that I think goes very well with this lesson.

Good Guy Gideon
Sing to the Tune of Michael Finnegan

There was a good guy
His name was Gideon
Hiding from the mean men of Midian
An angel came from God and said to him
"The Lord is with you, brave and mighty man"

Gideon loved God and obeyed him
Sending home thousands of men
Only three hundred was God plan
The Lord was with this brave and mighty man.

Thank you for another wonderful lesson! Theresa Bostick

I did the Gideon lesson last night with my kids (2-4 year olds) and they loved it. We built a cave using a table and some blankets and we crawled in to tell the story. I have a suggestion. We made torches using brown construction paper and orange tissue paper. I rolled the brown construction paper in to a cone shape and taped down the edges (You may have to fold down some corners of the page that stick up.). I rolled up a few pieces of tape and stuck them on the inside. Next, I crinkled a whole sheet of orange tissue paper and stuck it inside the cone. I wrote "Gideon's Torch" on the outside and the kids loved it. Thanks for all your hard work! Katherine Welch

My preschool Sunday school class recently did the lesson "Gideon-Brave & Mighty".
The children colored the "How many Israelites can you find? (coloring sheet provided on your website). The children then made a "God is Love" pin. We talked about how God's love helps to protect Gideon from the mean and might men of Midian. The children really enjoyed the lesson. Thanks for all of your wonderful ideas! Ella

I used this lesson with my boys. I used little figurines to show how Gideon thrashed his wheat. We would thrash, be silent to listen for any Midianites, and then thrash again, and then listen again. They really enjoyed it. Plus, to show how God used only a few men, I used colored buttons and put them on a pile on the floor. Some of more colors than others. We would take out certain colors until we only had a few of one color left. This helped make real how only a few men were used by God to defeat the foe. Thanks for your site!

Greetings from Australia! I am a children's minister and just wanted to thank you for a brilliant site! Keep up the great work! In Christ, Yvonne

Gideon's Trumpet Bible Craft

What you will need:

Paper towel Tube

Paper or Styrofoam Bowl

Glue gun

Aluminum Foil

How to make:

1. Use a pencil to trace the end of a paper towel roll onto the bottom of the paper bowl. Make a slit all the way across the circle cutting the circle in half. Make another slit the opposite way cutting it in half again. Keep doing this until you have little wedge shapes all the way around the circle.

2. Bend the little wedge shapes out as shown in the picture.

3. Slide a paper towel tube inside the hole, through the inside of the bowl, until it is almost all the way down to the end of the tube. Place a line of glue all the way around the end of the tube and slide the paper bowl the rest of the way down to the end. Press the wedges to the tube to secure.

4. Cut pieces of aluminum foil to fit around the long part of the trumpet. Cut a square piece of aluminum foil for the bowl part of the trumpet. Cut a small circle in the middle. Place the end of the trumpet through the hole in the aluminum and bring the foil all the way up to the bowl and then press the aluminum foil down around the bowl into the inside. Wind a piece of aluminum foil around the handle and secure with tape. Use another piece of aluminum foil to roll up and form a handle. Tape the handle onto the long part or the trumpet.

Torch and Jar Craft

An aluminum can (Make sure there are
no sharp edges.), brown construction paper, red and yellow crepe,
and tape.

How to Make Gideon's Torch and Jar:

1. Give each child an aluminum can, a piece of brown construction
paper, some red and yellow crepe paper, and some tape.

2. Show the children how to roll up their paper and tape it closed
to make the bottom of the torch. Show them how to cut their crepe
paper to make a jagged edge and tape it to bottom of the torch.
You may want to have the children decorate their cans with stickers.

3. Color a Picture of Gideon's Men

2. While your students work, ask them what they think the men are holding, what they are doing, and why they think the men are doing it. Tell them that they will find out during the lesson.

Play "Who Stole the Snack?"

This
is a fun way to give out snacks at snack time and reinforce the
part of the lesson where the Midianites stole from Israelites.

Have
your children form a circle. Pick one child to be Gideon and to
sit in the middle of a circle. Gideon should close his eyes. Place
a bag or box of cookies or other snack in front of Gideon. Pick
a child to be the Midianite and sneak up and "steal" the
snack and then go back and sit down in his seat with the snacks
hidden behind his back. When the child is sitting and ready, all
the children should chant, "Gideon, Gideon, where's your snack?
A man from Midian took it and won't bring it back." Gideon
then guesses who "stole" the snack. If he guesses right
he gets to take the place of the child who "stole' the snack.
If he guesses wrong, he is still Gideon and another child pretends
to be the Midianite.

Play "Pass the Bread" Hot Potato Like Game

Remind the children about the part of the story where the Midianites
had a dream about a huge loaf of bread rolling down into their camp.
Play some music. Tell the children that in this game they are the
Midianites and a huge loaf of bread is rolling around. They should
pass the bread around in a circle trying not to be the person holding
the bread when the music stops. The child who is holding the bread
when the music stops has to say the memory verse.

Act Out the Story Using Props

Put some chairs at one end of the
room. Tell the children that the chairs are the camp of the mean
men of Gideon. Tell them that you are going to pretend to be Gideon
and they are your army. Tell them to follow you and do exactly as
you do. "When I blow my trumpet, you should blow your trumpets
and shout, "a sword for the Lord and for Gideon." Lead
the children over to the camp. Walk very slowly and on your tiptoes
like you are trying to sneak up on the camp. Tell the children to
walk very quietly. Direct them with your hands to stand around the
camp. Blow your horn and have the children blow theirs. Have the
children follow you as you pull your torch out from the can and
drop the can on the floor. Hold up your torch and shout, "a
sword for the Lord and for Gideon."

Play "Separate the Soldiers" Game

Use this game
to review the Bible verse or hand out snacks. Tell the child that
God had Gideon separate his soldiers by watching to see how they
drank water. Today I am going to separate you to see who says the
Bible verse (or who gets a snack first). Here are some ideas of
what you can use to separate the children. Once you have them separated
into two groups, you can say, "There are still too many of
you. I will have to separate you again. Come up with another criteria
to separate them. Once you get a small group have them say the Bible
verse or give them a snack. If you are giving out snack make sure
you let the children know that they will all receive snacks

Separate Them By:

If they raise their right hand or left hand

Different colors of clothes they are wearing

Color of eyes

Boy or girl

How many brothers and sister they have

If they like broccoli or any other food

If they go to public school or home school

If they walk to school or ride the bus

If they ate eggs for breakfast or they didn't

If they watched television before coming to church or didn't

If they have a dog or cat

Tell them to sit on the floor. Separate the children that cross
their legs from the ones that don'

Gideon's Torch Craft Using Lunch Bags and TP Rolls

We
constructed Gideon's torch in a pot using a small flashlight, a
paper lunch bag, a toilet paper tube, a small strip of tag board
and some tissue paper. (Make sure flashlight will fit in the TP
tube!) Also need, tacky glue, rubber band.

1. Cut the
top off the paper lunch bag about 1 inch higher than the tube.
(about 3 inches) Save the top.

2. Cut the
top to form a long strip. Cut the strip in half to form two shorter
strips. Cut one on these in half. Fold all strips in half lengthwise.
Fold again.

3. Place the
tube in the lunch bag. If needed add part of a crumpled newspaper
around the tube to give the bag a rounded shape. put glue on the
top 1/2 inch of the tube - then press the top of the bag around
the tube. Use a rubber band to hold. Once glue has set, take the
longest strip made from the bag top and glue this around to cover
the raw bag edges. Use rubber band to hold.

4. Take the
shorter strips and form in "C" shapes. Glue to either
side of bag for "pot" handles. Hold to set.

5. Take a 1/2
inch strip of tag board and wrap around top of flashlight. allow
enough overlap to glue easily. Don't glue yet.

6. Choose at
least 3 colors - yellow, red, orange - to represent fire. Cut
large and small flame shapes from all three colors of tissue and
glue onto the strip of tag board. Layer and overlap some for a
full effect. Allow to dry.

7. Glue the
flame strip around the top of the flashlight. use the rubber band
to hold.

Remind students
to wait until all glue is dry before putting their "torch"
in the pot.

This had a dramatic effect that evening when we turned down the
lights and had all the children "light" their torches.

The youngest
children were able to help cut and glue their flames. Older children
are able to do most of the craft without too much help. Cutting
the tops off the bags would streamline the craft as well as having
the small tag board strips already cut. Be sure to do a practice
one. Sent in by Loretta Wright

I love your website! It has really helped me with a lot of my units that I teach in my Christian school classroom. Gayla

I used the lesson "Gideon Fights the Men of Midian" for
my 2-6 year old Sunday school class today. It was a great lesson!
The children listened well and remembered the first part of the
lesson from last week in the "cave".

For the craft, we made Gideon's trumpet. I used birthday party hats
to make the bell of the trumpet, instead of the foam bowls. Remove
the elastic string from the hat and make four cuts from the point
of the hat to just over half-way up the hat. Push the paper towel
tube in through the inside of the hat and secure the ends of the
hat with masking tape. I wrapped the tape around several times.
In class, I used the extra wide aluminum foil and the children only
had to use one sheet of it to cover their trumpets. We used and
second piece to make the handle. They turned out great!!